ITV

Category: Media and Advertising

  • Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    MUMBAI: Averill Sequeira has landed the plum job of chief strategy officer at Essencemediacom, the WPP Media brand, marking another step up the corporate hierarchy for the seasoned media strategist. The appointment, which began in July, caps a career spanning over 20 years in India’s bustling advertising and media planning sector.

    Sequeira’s ascent through the ranks reads like a textbook case of steady professional progression. Her journey began modestly in 2004 as a media planner at Madison Communications, before moving to Lodestar Universal where she cut her teeth on communication planning and media tools development.

    The real acceleration came during her lengthy stint at Mindshare, GroupM’s media agency, where she spent nearly six years climbing from senior director of business planning to principal partner for strategy. Her remit there included managing strategic units, delivering marketing solutions, and shepherding blue-chip clients like PepsiCo through the digital transformation.

    A brief entrepreneurial detour saw her founding TranSkills India, a skills development venture, in 2013—though the appeal of agency life proved too strong to resist for long. She returned to the media fold at Cheil India as general manager of planning, before joining EssenceMediacom India in 2021.

    At EssenceMediacom, Sequeira has worn multiple hats, serving first as chief product officer and later as head of creative futures, before her latest promotion to the top strategy role. Her expertise spans customer insight, creative problem-solving, and marketing communications—skills that will prove essential as media agencies grapple with an increasingly fragmented advertising landscape.

    The appointment signals WPP Media’s confidence in homegrown talent, particularly as multinational agencies face pressure to localise their leadership teams across key markets like India.

  • Publicis opens AI-powered content studio in India

    Publicis opens AI-powered content studio in India

    MMUMBAI:  The age of one-size-fits-all advertising is over. Brands now need content that speaks to specific audiences, on specific platforms, at specific moments—and they need it fast.

    Publicis Groupe India has launched a content studio designed to meet precisely that demand, combining artificial intelligence with traditional creative talent to produce personalised, localised marketing material at speed.

    The facility, the group’s fifty second globally, integrates AI-powered tools with editing suites and CGI workstations to help brands respond quickly to cultural moments and platform changes. Unlike standard production houses, the studio focuses on creating what the company calls “intelligent content”—assets tailored to specific audiences, platforms and contexts rather than generic material produced at volume.

    “Marketers today aren’t short on data or ideas. What they need is the ability to turn those insights into powerful, relevant content—faster than ever before,” said  Publicis Groupe south Asia chief executive Anupriya Acharya. “This studio does exactly that.”

    The Mumbai operation joins Publicis Production’s network of studios in creative hubs including New York, London, Paris and Shanghai. It is equipped to handle both high-end production and agile content creation, offering post-production services to complement prodigious India’s existing capabilities.

    The studio integrates with Publicis’s international production ecosystem through LucidLink and data asset management systems, enabling real-time collaboration across markets. It has already produced content for brands across beauty, automotive, fast-moving consumer goods and technology sectors, creating thousands of assets for markets from southeast Asia to Australia and America.

    “Production is no longer the final step; it’s the creative engine that connects strategy, media, technology and commerce,” said Publicis Production managing partner C. “Today, it’s not just about producing more content, it’s about producing intelligent content, made for the right audience, tailored to the right platform, and delivered at the perfect moment.”

    Publicis Groupe South Asia  chief creative officer Rajdeepak Das  said the studio brings “creative, production and technology under one roof,” enabling the company to match the pace of cultural change.

     

  • Veteran journalist M L Kotru, former The Statesman editor, dies at 91

    Veteran journalist M L Kotru, former The Statesman editor, dies at 91

    MUMBAI: M L Kotru, one of India’s most respected journalists and a former editor of The Statesman, passed away on Thursday at his home in Gurgaon. He was 91.

    Kotru’s career stretched across nearly sixty years, during which he reported, edited and mentored across some of India’s leading publications. He began with stints at Sunday Mail and ANI before rising through the ranks at The Statesman, where he worked for years as diplomatic correspondent and later as editor. Even after stepping away from full-time newsroom roles, he remained active in commentary, contributing columns to The Statesman until 2013 and writing frequently for outlets in his native Kashmir.

    Beyond his professional accomplishments, Kotru played a vital role in shaping generations of reporters. A senior member and former secretary-general of the Press Club of India, he was widely regarded as a guiding hand for younger colleagues. His writing earned recognition with the Watumull Award for The Other Side, a series praised for its evocative depth and sharp observations.

    Condolences poured in from colleagues and protégés across the media industry. Furquan Moharkan of Morning Context described him as “the doyen of journalism,” while fellow journalist Parul Chandra remembered him as “a reporter’s editor and a brilliant writer.” The Press Club of India called his passing “an irreparable loss to journalism,” honouring him as a founding presence who upheld integrity and rigour in the profession.

  • Insurance on the move with HDFC Ergo’s OOH ride

    Insurance on the move with HDFC Ergo’s OOH ride

    MUMBAI: HDFC Ergo has just made your commute a little more secure, at least in spirit. The general insurance giant, in partnership with Posterscope India, has rolled out a campaign that turns everyday travel hubs into larger-than-life reminders of trust and protection.

    The spotlight is on Mumbai’s Airport road metro station, chosen for its steady stream of office-goers and long dwell times. For the next three years, everything from bus queue shelters to station spaces will serve as living billboards for the brand, making HDFC Ergo a familiar companion on thousands of daily journeys.

    “Branding the Airport road metro station is not just about scale, it is about connection,” said Posterscope India CEO Imtiyaz Vilatra. “We see OOH not just as advertising, but as a way to naturally integrate brands into people’s lives.”

    With every wait at a shelter and every ride through the station, commuters will find HDFC Egro quietly weaving itself into the fabric of their routine, a brand that travels with them, rain or shine.
     

  • Raj Kumar Singh takes charge as senior executive director at Anarock Mumbai

    Raj Kumar Singh takes charge as senior executive director at Anarock Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Raj Kumar Singh, a seasoned real estate professional, has been appointed senior executive director – residential sales at Anarock, Mumbai. With over 23 years in the industry, Singh has played a pivotal role in shaping India’s luxury residential segment.

    Singh began his career at Chesterton Meghraj, Tramell Crow Co, and JLL, where he built high-performing teams, drove revenue growth, and managed marquee clients including the Adani Group and Mariwala family. At JLL, he led Mumbai’s residential services and became senior vice president, overseeing large teams and revenue targets.

    Joining Anarock in 2016 alongside Anuj Puri, Singh helped establish the firm as a premier real estate advisory. As regional director for Mumbai, he spearheaded revenue planning, digital marketing initiatives, CRM integration, and innovative tech adoption, consistently delivering market-leading performance.

    A recognised thought leader, Singh has authored industry articles, appeared on television panels, and participated in prominent property expos. His academic credentials include a postgraduate degree from Welingkar Institute and leadership training at IIM Ahmedabad.

    Singh’s appointment reflects Anarock’s ambition to strengthen its luxury residential portfolio in Mumbai while championing operational excellence, sustainable growth, and customer-centric innovation.
     

  • Akash Nihalani joins RCM as general manager, marketing

    Akash Nihalani joins RCM as general manager, marketing

    MUMBAI: Akash Nihalani, a growth-focused marketing and business leader with over a decade of experience, has taken charge as general manager – marketing at RCM, one of India’s largest direct-selling companies. With a portfolio spanning FMCG, nutraceuticals, personal care, cosmetics, fashion, and accessories, RCM reaches over 2 million households nationwide.

    Nihalani brings a proven track record in building marketing ecosystems, leading cross-functional teams of 30 plus professionals and managing portfolios of Rs 35 crore. He has delivered measurable growth across sectors including FMCG, luxury, BFSI, entertainment, logistics, and technology, consistently improving brand visibility, customer acquisition, and retention through integrated strategies.

    His leadership philosophy blends a builder mindset, business acceleration, and a global-ready approach, combining performance marketing, digital storytelling, and data-led decision-making. At RCM, Nihalani focuses on shaping brand identity, strengthening customer engagement, and scaling marketing communications to create meaningful impact.

    Reflecting on his career, Nihalani recently concluded a chapter at The Minimalist, where he led a 30 plus member team through high-pressure campaigns, describing the experience as a journey of energy, creativity, and collaborative learning. He steps into his RCM role with a purpose-driven outlook, aligning with the company’s values of health, women empowerment, and self-reliance, aiming to contribute to building a stronger, more self-sufficient India.

  • Vijayavani promotes Arun Karadi to senior vice president

    Vijayavani promotes Arun Karadi to senior vice president

    MUMBAI: Vijayavani, Karnataka’s leading daily, has promoted Arun Karadi to senior vice president, recognising his pivotal role in the newspaper’s rise to the top of the state’s media landscape.

    Karadi brings over 24 years of experience in media sales and management, with a track record of performance-driven leadership. Since joining Vijayavani in 2014, he has steered the publication to become Karnataka’s number 1 newspaper, combining editorial integrity with market-savvy initiatives.

    He started his career at Vijaya Karnataka, before moving to the VRL Group and The Times of India, where he honed his skills in sales strategy, brand development and team building. Known for driving advertiser engagement and fostering strong reader connect, Karadi has helped craft Vijayavani’s winning formula in a competitive media market.

     

  • Loc8 by Osmo shifts OOH from counting impressions to capturing attention

    Loc8 by Osmo shifts OOH from counting impressions to capturing attention

    MUMBAI:  Having shaped impactful campaigns for brands like Renault, HP, Daikin and Max Estates, OSMO, one of India’s fastest-growing OOH agencies, has unveiled the power behind its success: Loc8, its proprietary planning platform.

    Loc8 is a first-of-its-kind tool built at the intersection of AI and human vision cognition that shifts out-of-home advertising from measuring reach to measuring attention. For the first time, Osmo is detailing how Loc8 delivers actionable insights that answer marketers’ most fundamental question: “Will people notice?” By transforming raw video data into quantifiable visibility and attention metrics, Loc8 provides advertisers with a sharper understanding of audience engagement and placement potential.

    “OOH stands at the brink of a transformation. Advertisers no longer want just eyeballs; they want evidence of attention and ground truth. Loc8 is the breakthrough the OOH industry has been waiting for – a next-generation metric that captures real-time audience attention,” said Osmo, co-founder, Mangesh Shinde.

    He added, “In a world where attention is the most valuable currency, Loc8 equips brands with the power of AI, enabling campaigns that are smarter, measurable and impossible to ignore. At Osmo, we say ‘Attention is the New Oil.’ And with Loc8, we’re helping clients harness it.”

    Loc8 works by combining real-world data collection, machine learning and cognition science into a seamless framework. Real-world site footage captured via IoT devices is analysed by machine learning engines, which generate attention metrics and a visual saliency score refined with live traffic conditions. These insights are then mapped across people, places and placements, measuring commute journeys, traffic speeds, impressions, points of interest, visibility, positioning, obstruction and dwell time. This process helps identify which OOH assets reach the right audience, how many they engage and the depth of attention they command. The results are made instantly accessible through an engagement console that presents clear attention metrics and effectiveness dashboards, enabling advertisers to plan smarter and more attention-led campaigns.

    Already embedded into several landmark campaigns across categories such as automobiles, real estate and consumer goods, Loc8 has been instrumental in unlocking deeper engagement and brand recall in crowded urban landscapes.

    “OOH is at a stage where advertisers increasingly demand accountability. As investments in the medium grow, LOC8 enables decision-makers to conduct a virtual recce with confidence. By combining AI, ML and cognition science, our attention metrics build trust, benchmark asset performance and ensure campaigns are noticed, not just seen,” said Osmo, co-founder, Nipun Arora. 

  • WARC ad forecast: Digital giants to gorge on global bonanza in 2025

    WARC ad forecast: Digital giants to gorge on global bonanza in 2025

    MUMBAI: Global advertising expenditure is set to surge by 7.4 per cent this year to $1.17trn, according to WARC’s latest forecast—the first upward revision in more than a year. The research firm has boosted its projection by 1.2 percentage points since June, driven by what it calls a “social media windfall” and frenetic pre-tariff spending.

    The bonanza is heavily skewed towards a handful of technology titans. Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are forecast to hoover up nearly two-thirds of all advertising growth in 2025, cementing their stranglehold on the global marketing purse strings. Outside China, the trio already commands 55.8 per cent of all advertising spend—a share set to exceed 60 per cent by 2030.

    Digital platforms are cannibalising traditional media with ruthless efficiency. Nine in every ten new advertising dollars are flowing to online-only platforms, leaving legacy media owners—even those with digital arms—to scrap over what WARC likens to “the equivalent of Facebook’s monthly revenue.”

    Social media has emerged as the single largest advertising medium globally, gobbling up 40.6 per cent of new marketing dollars. Spending on the channel is projected to rocket by 14.9 per cent to $306.4bn this year, representing more than a quarter of total global advertising expenditure. Meta remains the chief beneficiary, capturing 60 per cent of all social media advertising spend.

    The spending spree was particularly pronounced in the second quarter, when social media expenditure jumped 20.2 per cent year-on-year—well above WARC’s initial projection of 12.4 per cent growth. The surge was driven by retailers rushing to stockpile inventory and promote value ahead of expected price hikes, with retail now the largest category on both Instagram and TikTok.

    Search advertising is attracting around 22 per cent of new dollars, while retail media platforms are capturing another 21.5 per cent. Amazon is poised to claim over a third of the retail media pie, which is forecast to grow 13.7 per cent to $175bn in 2025.

    The momentum is expected to accelerate further, with global advertising spend projected to rise 8.1 per cent to $1.27trn in 2026 and 7.1 per cent to $1.36trn in 2027. The market is on track to nearly double in value since the pandemic, underscoring advertising’s remarkable resilience despite economic headwinds.

    “This includes disruption to global trade and reduced purchasing power among consumers, brands are doubling down on Meta, Alphabet and Amazon,” said WARC director of data, intelligence and forecasting James Mcdonald. “The global market is set to nearly double in value since the pandemic, underscoring the resilience of advertising in a tougher economic climate.”

    The rosy outlook contrasts sharply with some other industry forecasts. eMarketer recently slashed its projections for American digital advertising spending, citing the impact of trade wars on automotive and retail sectors. But WARC’s global perspective suggests the digital advertising juggernaut shows no signs of slowing.

  • Digital marketing veteran Amit Lall switches to WPP Media as planning lead

    Digital marketing veteran Amit Lall switches to WPP Media as planning lead

    MUMBAI: Amit Lall, a digital marketing stalwart with over two decades in the trenches, has traded his principal partner role at Mindshare for a planning lead position at WPP Media, overseeing the conglomerate’s western and southern Indian operations from Mumbai.

    The move in September ends Lall’s four-year-eight-month stint at Mindshare, where he commanded a team of over 30 professionals whilst juggling a diverse client roster spanning consumer durables, fintech, telecom, pharmaceuticals, and banking. His portfolio included marquee accounts across multiple sectors, positioning him as one of the agency’s key rainmakers in the fiercely competitive western market.

    Before his Mindshare tenure, Lall spent just over a year as senior vice president at DigitalKites Global, where he steered a pioneering audience intelligence platform touching 250 million profiled users—India’s largest first-party audience marketplace. The role saw him managing full profit-and-loss responsibility across markets whilst delivering digital transformation solutions to brands and agencies.

    He has had a fascinating career trajectory. At Omnicom Media Group, he spent over five years crafting digital strategies for western India’s premium clients, earning local and global accolades including Foma and James Burke awards. Earlier, at Mobile2win, he turbocharged mobile advertising revenue by 260 per cent year-on-year during a recession, whilst onboarding 50 new accounts and slashing overheads by 30 per cent.

    Lall’s appointment signals WPP Media’s intent to consolidate its Indian operations under seasoned digital natives who’ve witnessed the subcontinent’s advertising metamorphosis from traditional media to mobile-first strategies. His deep understanding of India’s fragmented media landscape—from pioneering SMS ad networks at Mauj Telecom to managing channel partnerships at Reliance Communications—positions him well to navigate WPP’s evolving client demands.

    The hire comes as global advertising giants scramble to retain top talent in India’s booming digital advertising market, where homegrown expertise commands premium valuations.